'08 Beijing Olympics Update

(One in an occasional series provided during the run-up to the ’08 Summer Games in Beijing, China. Archived posts in this series can be accessed by entering “Olympics” in the blog search box above).

ESPN ran an Outside the Lines segment last night featuring comments LeBron James made this past spring with respect to speaking out against China’s human rights abuses (segment can be found at the top of the queue on the right hand side of page, here). In May, James said that he would help raise awareness as to China’s involvement with the Sudanese government and that government’s de-facto sponsorship of genocide in Darfur.

But now that James and the rest of the team are in Beijing, putting the finishing touches on preparations for the Games that start this Friday, he and the rest of the team are singing another tune. To a person, including the coaches, the party line is “we’re just here to play hoops” and the “Olympics is not the venue for politics”.

It was suggested that David Stern eyeing China's 300+ million basketball fans (as many fans in China as people living here in the States) would not take kindly to any rhetoric that would chill potential customers.

What, if any, obligation do athletes, particularly those from the most high-visibility and freest nation on the planet have to speak out against China’s policies ranging from Darfur, Tibet, internal dissident groups, etc.?

Should the basketball players, for instance, just let their on-court excellence be a witness to freedom and liberty and just be gracious and humble guests by keeping their mouths shut or has China’s egregious behavior demanded that a bold stance and protest against these actions be displayed during the Games? Or is there some sort of middle ground where a subtle show of solidarity can be shown towards China’s oppressed without causing a scene?

Please feel free to comment and participate in out poll on the right-hand margin.